Natural History Wanderings

Audubon reports

Migrating songbirds can get caught in the memorial’s beams of light. Here’s how NYC Audubon gets them out.

Two blue beams of light will shine upward from lower Manhattan tonight, an annual “Tribute in Light” to commemorate the September 11 terrorism attacks. Standing right beneath the beams will be New York City Audubon volunteers—on hand to save the birds trapped in the lights’ ambit.

For reasons still unknown to science, artificial light attracts birds, from fledgling seabirds to migrating songbirds (it does the same to moths). Once captivated, disoriented birds may crash into windows, or spend hours circling.

Read more at Making the 9/11 Memorial Lights Bird-Safe | Audubon